Smiling can be a hot topic for women. Because Godtopus forgive we only smile when we feel like it. Catcallers and dirty old men around the world seem to think we’re meant to smile whenever they feel like it. Well, master thespians Laura Linney and Cynthia Nixon know all the intricacies of smiles. And they’re giving the world a quick and ruthless lesson.

“There are smiles that are weapons,” Linney explains in the NY Times video, “There are smiles that are shields.” And presumably the pair wield both as they exchange roles on the regular in the Broadway production of Lillian Hellman’s 1939 classic, Little Foxes.

This vid is ultimately a promo for a play. But the best bit is when these fierce ladies discuss what’d happen if you flipped the tables on rando dudes and demanded they smile. “They wouldn’t even be offended,” Nixon chuckles, “they would just be so confused.”